Jasmine Paolini stared down victory in her Cincinnati Open semifinal against Veronika Kudermetova, only to falter dramatically before regrouping to claim a hard-fought three-set win and a final showdown with world number one Iga Swiatek.
Paolini dominated early, seizing the first set 6-3 in just 28 minutes. She broke Kudermetova in the eighth game and capitalized on the Russian’s errors to close it out. The second set followed a similar pattern initially. Despite Kudermetova struggling with her backhand and double faults, Paolini maintained control, advancing to 5-3 and earning the chance to serve for the match.
Then, the Italian’s composure shattered. Serving at 5-3, the pressure overwhelmed Paolini, allowing Kudermetova to break back and level at 5-5. The revitalized Russian seized the momentum, breaking again and forcing a tiebreak, which she dominated 7-2.
“Forget and start over,” Paolini later revealed as her key to recovery. She reset mentally for the deciding third set. After breaking Kudermetova in the sixth game to lead 4-2, Paolini weathered three break points against her own serve to extend her lead to 5-2. Although Kudermetova held to make it 5-3, Paolini confidently served for victory a second time. This time, she converted her first match point to seal the win.
Paolini now faces the ultimate challenge: Swiatek, the top seed who defeated Elena Rybakina in the other semifinal. The Pole represents a “mountain” for the Italian to climb in the championship match.